The Denver Stampede were an American rugby union team that played in the short lived PRO Rugby competition. The Stampede was one of the five teams that began play in PRO Rugby's 2016 inaugural season. The team played its home matches at the University of Denver's CIBER Field. The team was led by head coach Sean O'Leary and captain Pedrie Wannenburg.
| Full name | Denver Stampede | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Union | USA Rugby | ||
| Founded | 2016 | ||
| Disbanded | 2017 | ||
| Location | Denver, Colorado, U.S. | ||
| Ground(s) | CIBER Field (Capacity: 1,915) | ||
| Coach(es) | Sean O'Leary | ||
| Captain(s) | Pedrie Wannenburg | ||
| League(s) | PRO Rugby | ||
| |||
History
editReports began circulating as early as November 2015 that Denver would host a PRO Rugby team when the competition's inaugural season kicked off in April 2016.[1] PRO Rugby officially announced on February 26, 2016 that Denver would be the competition's fifth team.[2] Denver's first officially announced player signing was South African international Pedrie Wannenburg.[3]
Denver hosted Ohio in the first ever PRO Rugby match on April 17, 2016, winning 16–13 at Infinity Park on a late penalty kick from flyhalf Will Magie.[4] PRO Rugby revealed the team's nickname — the Denver Stampede — on June 6, 2016, a reference to Colorado's western theme; this name beat two other final candidates: the Peak (also a mountain western theme) and the Vipers.[5]
On December 20, 2016 all PRO Rugby players received notice their contracts will be terminated in 30 days if progress is not made towards resolving disputes between the league and USA Rugby.[6]
Stadia
edit- Infinity Park (April – May 2016)
- CIBER Field (June – July 2016)
Denver began its inaugural 2016 season playing at Infinity Park. Denver moved to CIBER Field, however, during the 2016 season; this move allowed PRO Rugby to live steam all matches on prorugby.org, and had superior financial considerations.[7]
Current players and staff
editCurrent roster
editThe squad for the 2016 PRO Rugby season:[8]
| Denver roster | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Props
Hookers Locks
|
Loose forwards
Scrum-halves
Fly-halves
|
Centers
Wingers
Fullbacks
|
| (c) Denotes team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped. |
Current coaches
edit| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach |  Sean O'Leary
|
| Assistant coach |  Peter Borlase
|
| Assistant coach |  David Williams[9]
|
| Technical advisor |  André Snyman
|
| General manager | Kieran Browner[10] |
Season summaries
edit| Season | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points for |
Points Against |
Points Diff |
Bonus Points |
Points | Position | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 403 | 273 | +130 | 8 | 48 | 1 / 5 | 2016 Denver Stampede season |
Leading players
edit| Season | Captain | Most tries | Most points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Pedrie Wannenburg | Zach Fenoglio (6) | Will Magie (88) |
Head coaches
edit| Coach | Tenure | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | Winning Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sean O'Leary | 2016 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 83.3% |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Professional rugby team planned for Denver", Denver Business Journal, Monica Mendoza, November 18, 2015.
- ^ "Denver Lands Final PRO Rugby Team", This Is American Rugby, February 26, 2016.
- ^ "Pedrie set for American stint", SA Rugby Mag, March 6, 2016.
- ^ "Sacramento and Denver win as PRO Rugby opens in snow and sunshine", Guardian, April 18, 2016.
- ^ "PRO Rugby Unveils Team Names", This Is American Rugby, June 6, 2016.
- ^ "Down Goes PRO". Archived from the original on 2019-06-20. Retrieved 2016-12-20.
- ^ "PRO Rugby leaves AOL and Infinity Park", Americas Rugby News, May 24, 2016.
- ^ "PRO Rugby Preview – Denver". Americas Rugby News. April 13, 2016. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
- ^ "David Williams Named as Denver Assistant Coach", Americas Rugby News, March 9, 2016.
- ^ "U.S. professional rugby to lift off without Olympic stars", ESPN, April 15, 2016.